5 O'Clock Rat-race

THERE ARE MANY ALCOHOLICS WHO manage--even in their worst stage--to do without a drink from morning rising to official quitting time on the job. I fell into this category. Somehow I was able to take one hour at a time without alcohol all day. . .but five o'clock found me back in the rat-race.

At first, I used the excuse of working late so I could be left alone with my bottle to tend to minor jobs. These jobs were neither necessary nor profitable--just a means of satisfying my secret desire to drink alone.